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School District To Drop Lunch Menus To ‘Minimum Level’ During Government Shutdown

VANCE COUNTY, N.C. (CBS Local) — With no end in sight for the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, a school district in North Carolina has announced it will have to revise lunch menus to a “minimum level” to “conserve food and funding.”

Vance County Schools officials announced on Facebook late Tuesday the “minimum level” includes one main dish, bread, two vegetables, one fruit and milk.

The district will no longer include fresh produce in lunches, except at elementary schools in the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. But even that program will be reduced to two days a week.

Bottled drinks, like water and juice, will only be available until current stock runs out. And no ice cream will be available until further notice.

The changes will go into effect starting next week.

“The Vance County Schools Nutrition Program for students is self-supporting with federal funds providing meals,” the district wrote on Facebook. “We hope that normal lunch menus can be resumed as soon as possible once the shutdown has ended.”

Vance County is about 50 miles north of Raleigh, along the Virginia state line.